Citrophilus mealybug	-	Cultural control for all species combined
	Longtailed mealybug
	Obscure mealybug

Cultural methods can assist with mealybug control. Pruning should maintain tree size and shape suited to good spray penetration and coverage. Careful pruning can also remove the sites for overwintering mealybugs, such as in split or broken wood, and mummified fruits. The old prunings should be mulched, buried or burned.

Mowing helps to reduce the levels of mealybugs on plants in the ground cover. They are also picked up by machinery during normal operations, and spread around the orchard can be minimised by washing down machinery between jobs. This is particularly helpful if an insecticide-resistant population of mealybug is present or suspected on only part of the orchard.

Compared to pipfruit varieties with a closed calyx, those with an open calyx (e.g. 'Delicious' types) are particularly prone to fruit infestation by mealybugs . Burr-knotting also encourages mealybug infestation by providing establishment and overwintering sites and should be minimised if possible. The resistance of different varieties and rootstocks to mealybug attack is being studied but recommendations for varietal selection cannot yet be made. Mealybugs also have a wide host range which includes a number of shelter trees, such as willows. Where possible, these susceptible hosts should be avoided (particularly if they also harbour scale insects (e.g. San Jose scale) and leafrollers (e.g. lightbrown apple moth)) and non-host shelter species planted, such as Casuarina and bamboo.